| Field | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Field Paper Abstract | Before | After This paper presents the findings of two natural field experiments that were conducted in collaboration with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The first experiment tests the effect of changes to letters on businesses paying the correct amount of tax. The second experiment consists of two parts. The first part aims to raise awareness of the relevance of tax debt payment by changing internal guidelines used by field auditors. The second part focuses on studying the effect of changing the phone script used by desk auditors to facilitate payment arrangements and simplifying a follow-up letter. While the first experiment had no effects on any of the outcome measures considered, the results of the second experiment indicate that changing the phone script of desk auditors and simplifying the letter reduced the proportion of default assessments raised by the ATO by 69 percent, suggesting that businesses are responsive to certain types of nudges. |
| Field Paper Citation | Before | After Nicholas Biddle, Katja M. Fels, Mathias Sinning, Behavioral insights on business taxation: Evidence from two natural field experiments, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Volume 18, 2018, Pages 30-49, ISSN 2214-6350, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbef.2018.01.004. |
| Field Paper URL | Before | After https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbef.2018.01.004 |
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Field Paper Abstract | Value This paper presents the findings of two Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) that were conducted in collaboration with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The first trial tests the effect of changes to letters (timing, social norms, color, and provision of information about charitable donations) on response rates of businesses, the timing of payments and the amount of tax debt payments. The second trial consists of two parts. The first part aims to raise awareness of the relevance of tax debt payment by changing internal guidelines used by field auditors. The second part focuses on studying the effect of changing the phone script used by desk auditors to offer assistance with payment arrangements and simplifying a follow-up letter. The findings of the first trial indicate that none of the treatments had a significant effect on any of the outcome measures considered. In contrast, the results of the second trial indicate that changing the phone script of desk auditors and simplifying the follow-up letter reduced the proportion of default assessments raised by the ATO significantly, suggesting that businesses are responsive to certain types of nudges. |
| Field Paper Citation | Value Biddle, Nicholas, Fels, Katja, and Mathias Sinning (2017): Behavioral Insights and Business Taxation: Evidence from Two Randomized Controlled Trials, Tax and Transfer Policy Institute (TTPI) Working Paper No. 2/2017, Australian National University. |
| Field Paper URL | Value https://taxpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/publication/taxstudies_crawford_anu_edu_au/2017-06/complete_bi_biddle-fels-sinning.pdf |